The idle ramblings of a devoted space and science fiction nut who also happens to write.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

A Mistake in position on the Olympics

Initially, my thinking about the Olympics was that we should go forth in non-protest, but as things have ratcheted up in the last few weeks with China cracking down on dissenters and on the Tibetans, I have become more and more soft on my stance. While I have never supported protests against the olympics, I am now for moving them all together from China. We could move them some place like Sydney or another city that already has infrastructure to support the games.

Such a move would not only be a wake-up call for the Chinese government but even the mere threat of such a move would hopefully get them moving in the right direction. And if it didnt, we could always set a deadline for them to do it and at the same time have another city prepare for the games.

One may wonder what it is that made me change my stance. In the world of free journalism, there are few of us who are as well known as Wu Lihong. A ecologist who has spear headed China's AIDS campaign and their anti-corruption campaigns is now in Jail for three years for speaking his mind on the Olympics.

While there are many of us who have spoken our minds on it, few if any of us have served time for our thoughts. But now, Wu's wife is having to figure out how to survive in a country where the government doesn't care what happens to a person's family. With 2 Billion people, who can blame them much on this but as one who cares about people, this type of attitude is not only unacceptable but is completely abhorrent.

Which brings me to Tibet. Just because the Chinese government claims something as their own, it does not make it so. I say to the Chinese government: Get a grip dudes! Let the Tibetan people live in peace and quit jailing people for speaking their mind. The deaths of nearly 200 people for protesting something that is frowned upon in all free countries is unacceptable.